Staples details the similarities between the situation in Mali and the Canadian experience in Afghanistan, and how Canada could potentially have a different role in Mali:

Staples sees more positive roles for Canada in Mali. “There’s a food crisis going on there. Many thousands of people are internally displaced within the country. There’s an aid mission there. That’s the right way to intervene. There is an African contingent of troops from different countries. One potential game-changer could be a UN peacekeeping operation.”